Reading Materials -

4.The Temple of Heaven


The Temple of Heaven, the largest group of temple buildings in China, was constructed in southeast Beijing in 1420. It is noted for its exquisite layout, harmonious color, and unique structure.

Covering 273 hectares, the main structures of the Temple of Heaven include the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Circular Mound Altar, and the Hall of abstinence.


Unlike the Imperial Palace, which has yellow tiles and red walls, the Temple of Heaven is mostly sky blue in color. It has two surrounding walls, both of which are round to the north and square to the south. Such a pattern symbolizes the ancient belief that heaven is round and the earth is square.



The main temple, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, is a lofty cone-shaped wooden structure joined together entirely by wooden bars, laths, rafters, and brackets without the use of iron or bronze. This brilliant example of ancient Chinese architecture measures 38m. in height and 30m. in diameter. Set with deep blue glazed tiles, the roof is crowned at the top with a huge golden ball. Its triple eaves, diminidhing in size as they mount upward, are supported by 28 massive woden pillars. The four central columns, called the "Dragon- Well Pillars", represent the four seasons. Surrounding these four, there are two rings of 12 columns each; the inner ring symbolizes the 12 month and the outer, the 12 divisions of day and night; and the pillars of the inner and the outer rings together stand for the 24 solar terms or the divisions of the lunar year in the traditional Chinese calender. It was in this hall that the emperors of the Ming(1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties prayed for good harvest every year on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar year.

South of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is the Circular Mound Altar, a three-tiered circular marble terrace enclosed by marble balustraders on each tier. The upper terrace is 90 ft. wide, and the base is 210 ft. across. The platform is laid with marble slabs in nine concentric circles, and everything is arranged in multiples of the number nine. Every year on the winter solstice sacrifices were offered at the altar by the emperor who, surrounded first by the circles of the terrace and their railings and then by the horizon, seemed to be in the center of the universe.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven, a circular structure with deep blue glazed tiles, was used to house the spirit tablets of the "Supreme Ruler of Heaven". Around the Imperial Vault of Heaven is the Echo Wall, where the acoustic effects are such that a whisper at one end of the wall can be heard at some distance at the other hand.